Great is my astonishment to see the conditions under which the Malay people live. The do things which no other race would ever do. Has any other race in the world so far forgotten its own language as to have no place at all where language is taught? Only the Malay, I notice, take no interest in their own language. Because their forefathers did not study Malay, they dare not start now. Amazing indeed! For every day they speak Malay in all their dealings with each other they use Malay, letters sent from one country to another are written in Malay. But they do not wish to learn the language itself. I doubt whether one man in a hundred understands the language, and even if there are as many it is not by dint of diligent study but by slavishly copying other people’s ways. If anyone questions them about the use of a certain word, its origin or why it is employed in a particular place, they are speechless with surprise for they have never had a teacher, being content merely to imitate others. Is it right that hundreds, nay thousands of men should grow up not knowing how to read or write or do simple sums? It makes them look ridiculous in the eyes of other races who cheat them over measurements and weights and computations, and in general wherever writing is involved

The thorny issue that was being debated between Abdullah and his peers at the moment was his role as translator for a particular text that many of them were reluctant to touch: The New Testament.

Abdullah had been approached by some English missionaries and commissioned by them to translate the New Testament into vernacular Malay, which was to be used at Church as well as the modest missionary efforts among the colonial subjects of the Crown Colonies. As Malay was the lingua franca of everyone who lived in the straits then (including the Peranakan Chinese, Indians, Eurasians and even the British and Dutch), it was deemed appropriate to have the Bible translated into Malay as well.

Munshi Abdullah who regarded himself primarily as a professional translator was prepared to do the job that scared off all other contenders; until his father came into the picture, spewing steam and hot curses, and swearing that his son would never be converted by the heathen missionaries. In a touching passage of the Hikayat Abdullah describes how he appealed to his father’s own sense of values, and in particular to his father’s own love for knowledge and languages in general. His father was further persuaded by the appeals of the priests Milner and Thomson, who promised that they would respect his father’s wishes and refrain from offering any religious instruction to Abdullah. In the end, Abdullah notes how the appeals eventually won over his father’s consent and he was allowed to continue his study of this foreign language called English. The result of Abdullah’s efforts came in the form of one of the first vernacular Malay translations of the New Testament, the Kitab Injil al-Kudus daripada Tuhan Esa al-Masihi.

“abdullah was of course aware of the missionaries’ agenda and it may be argued that he therefore emphasized his own Muslim identity, but to what extent could he see through the haze caused by his admiration for British innovations? the scathing criticism abdullah vented against Malay ruling elites was induced by the content and tone of the textbooks he apparently translated and adapted for the missionaries. North was an especially efective agent in promoting abdullah’s absorption of knowledge from the West, consisting mainly of information about new technologies and their consequences.

The sharp tone of these texts seems very much to refect late eighteenth-century europe with its rapidly expanding social class of poor people and growing anti-royalist feelings in the decades afer the French Revolution. Missionaries had taken the opportunity to improve their situation and climb the social ladder by studying hard and spreading the gospel. It was their conviction that the indigenous people of Southeast asia could do the same, provided they got rid of their rulers and their old traditions. It is exactly this message that is disseminated by abdullah in his Hikayat and in the account of his voyage to Kelantan.”

In 1874, the Treaty of Pangkor with the Malay rulers paved the way for the British who slowly but surely influenced the Malay states till the whole peninsula came under British rule. The Christian religion was sacrificed in favour of mere trade, for the treaty required non-interference in local religion. It became the hallmark of the British system to maintain a Christian presence solely for the colonial masters. This policy had a twofold effect on the history of Christian-Muslim relations in this nation. First, the sultans of each state have become the heads of the Muslim religion, and this right is entrenched in the Constitution of the nation.

Secondly the Malays have been denied the privilege of receiving the Gospel… Whatever detailed adjustments might be made to this view, the treaty of 1874 underlies the clause in the present Constitution which provides religious freedom but forbids propagation of other religions to the Malays

“Munshi Abdullah was enlisted as one of the teachers to both Milne and the students.Abdullah himself studied the Gospel under the tutelage of Robert Morrison, when the latter visited his protégé, Milne, in Malacca”

[Nota ODS: Yang penting adalah perkataan yang dipekatkan iaitu]:

…Abdullah sendiri mengkaji Gospel tersebut..

Dan yang lebih baik adalah no 84, dimana penulis menyatakan:

“One could say, as fate would have it, while Abdullah was actively promoting early Malay work, his son was involved, albeit indirectly, in the events leading to Pangkor Treaty – the event which “put a break” to Malay evangelism”

Definition of a ‘word’ changes from one time to another, and from one place to another.

How sure are you the people in Nusantara in the 17th century regard the word ‘Allah’, as a proper noun of Muslim God in Malay (i.e. Muslim God) or just God in general; in fact how do you know in the 13th century Dewata Mulia Raya is not a proper name for a Hindu God, and the Malay during that time is following a ritualistic Hindu-Muslim version of Islam ?

The word “Neraka” is a proper noun in Sanskrit to denote the Hindu hell and Svarga, Hindu heaven. When did these word become a common noun? Or Muslim Malays goes either to Hindu hell and heaven instead of Janaah and Jahanam?

Fact is we will never know it because there is not many documentation (i.e. linguistic study in the 17th century), and most are from the Europeans, which the Malays are sceptical of. The solution is like know, maintain the usage of Allah in majority Malay-speaking Christian community in Sabah Sarawak, and ban the usage in Peninsular Malaysia. It is after all, what the people of this age deem the meaning of the word is, is what’s important, right?

“By the way your posting of the facebook example is really unnecessary right, generalizing Christians just by the act of 2 teenagers in Facebook; I can similarly quote an example of two Muslims spy who participated Christian Mass and spit out The Eucharist Bread (an act which is severely derogatory to the Christians); but I would not generalize the whole Muslim community just by the irresponsible act of this 2 people”

Just to prove a point that don’t mess with the Sabahan and Sarawakian. Remember your stupid semenanjung rulings previously banning Iban Bible which uses Allah Taala..thank goodness you guys came to your senses and lifted the ban

Hi ODS, my friend, i like to say that munshi Abdullah is not a convert and was never brain washed by the missioonaries. He died a muslim in Jeddah.SO AS A MUSLIM TRANSLATOR HE PUT ALLAH FOR GOD BECAUSE ALLAH IS THE GOD OF MUSLIMS, NOT THE GOD IN TAURAT. PERIOD…………….
you must know this that a christian has a responsibility to another human when he comes into contact, that is to show the WAY-JALAN LURUS, IAITU
BERITA BAIK- KESELAMATAN MELALUI PENGAMPUNAN DOSA- UTUSAN DARI YAHWEH YANG MENCIPTA LANGIT DAN BUMI BAGI MEREKA YANG PERCAYA. SO LONG STORY CUT SHORT- YAHWEH IS TUHAN MAHA KUASA
MENGUTUS ANAK-NYA KEDUNIA INI UNTUK MENYELAMATKAN DAN BUKAN UNTUK MENGHAKIMI DUNIA INI. INILAH KASIH TUHAN YANG DI TUNJUKKAN OLEH ANAK-NYA YESUS KRISTUS, FIRMAN YANG TURUN KE DUNIA INI SEBAGAI MANUSIA, DILAHIRKAN SECARA MUKJIZAT OLEH SEORANG ANAK
DARA YANG BERNAMA MARIAM.so much to say but simply said-
ALLAH IS MUSLIM GOD AND HAVE NO SON SO CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT USE ALLAH IN WORSHIP. WE SHOULD ONLY WORSHIP JESUS CHRIST,
THE IMAGE OF THE LIVING GOD,who was and is and is to come. amen

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